Assoc. Prof. Yesim Sirakaya

St. Clements University/Türkiye-UK Head of the Department of Labor Economics and Industrial Relations

DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2025.v4i3n11

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ABSTRACT

This article examines the effects of the Cinderella complex observed among female employees on psychological health. The Cinderella complex is defined as women's fear of independence, waiting to be rescued by a male figure and therefore psychological addiction development (Atsan Çakır, Vural Batık & Çakır, 2023). This may cause women to experience lack of self -confidence in business, avoid leadership positions and encounter obstacles in their career development. Research shows that there is a positive relationship between the Cinderella complex and insecure bind styles. In particular, women who have avoided and have anxious attachment styles have found the symptoms of the Cinderella complex more intensely (Atsan Çakır et al., 2023). These psychological tendencies can cause problems such as stress, anxiety and low self-value perception in business life. This article emphasizes the importance of supportive workplace applications in order for female employees to cope with the Cinderella complex. In particular, applications such as mentoring programs, leadership trainings and psychosocial support services can help women to overcome the fear of independence by increasing the self -confidence of women. In addition, the adoption of policies based on gender equality can encourage women to play more active and independent roles in the workplace. As a result, organizations need to develop policies that encourage gender equality in order to support female employees' psychological health and to reduce the negative effects of the Cinderella complex. Such policies will contribute to the fact that women become more independent and stronger in business life.

KEYWORDS:

female employees, cinderella complex, psychological health, workplace supporting practices, gender equality, leadership development, organizational psychology.

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VOlUME 04 ISSUE 03 MARCH 2025